Daily Record Sports Writer
BERLIN — Hiland capped off the first day of the Classic in the Country with an impressive performance against Dayton Carroll, displaying an array of long-range firepower to score a 59-46 triumph over the Patriots.
Ignited by Brittany Miller's two first-quarter triples, a steal, and two assists, Hiland jumped out to a 16-6 lead after one period of play and never looked back.
Miller drilled a triple from the top of the key, stole the ensuing inbounds pass and fed Kennedy Schlabach for a layup as Hiland scored the first seven points, forcing the Patriots to take a timeout two minutes into the game.
"Brittany set the tone at the beginning and really got us going," said Angela Troyer, who shared game scoring honors with Schlabach and Carroll's Amanda Schroeder with 16 points. "That got the energy going and we fed off of that."
"We got the lead, and like coach says, we punched them in the face," Miller said. "It was definitely encouraging and the team fed off of it."
Hiland coach Dave Schlabach says he is used to his team making a four-minute run in the second half to put teams away, and it was a bit unusual to see the run so early.
"Normally we try to wear people out," Schlabach said. "Attacking them early made it anticlimactic, a little bit."
Carroll lost starting point guard Kate Hickey to an ankle injury in practice on Friday and Hiland attacked that weaknesss right off the bat.
"They're a really good team. We got them on their heels and they missed Hickey tonight," Schlabach said. "Us coming out so quickly and getting right after them picked us up a bit."
The Hawks continued to light it up from long range in the second quarter while Carroll struggled from the field, connecting on only 3 of 15 shots in the second quarter (5 of 20 in the first half) as Hiland built a 30-15 lead at intermission.
Sara Keim and Angie Troyer swished triples for the Hawks, who connected on 6 of 12 from deep in the first half, finishing with 11 3-pointers for the game.
Hiland stayed hot from the perimeter in the third quarter. Back-to-back triples from Troyer and Schlabach capped an 8-2 run to open the second half and helped the Hawks build a 21-point lead.
Keim connected on three triples for her nine points and Miller finished with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists.
"This was a good win for us," coach Schlabach said. "They beat Tecumseh after being down by 17 in the first half last week and they beat Beavercreek.
"The supporting cast was really good," the coach continued. "When Jess (Troyer) scores a little bit and rebounds the ball (Troyer had four points and a team high nine rebounds) Sara (Keim) hits some shots, all of sudden we get these guys a breather and we extended the lead. We had a steady game."
Hiland improved its record to 13-2 with the win, while the Patriots dropped to 10-6 on the season.
